KEY POINTS:
Maritime New Zealand is "very satisfied" with the sentence handed down today to the owner of an ill-fated Nelson-based fishing boat lost at sea in December 2005 with three crew .
Judge John Walker sentenced Warwick John Loader to 350 hours' community work at the Nelson District Court.
Loader, owner and director of Crusader Fisheries, was found guilty in March of operating the vessel Mi Jay in a manner causing unnecessary danger or risk to others.
He was convicted, with Crusader Fisheries convicted on a similar charge.
Maritime New Zealand spokesman Steve Corbett said the main drive had been for a conviction.
"It sends a strong message to all those responsible on shore that they have a dual responsibility with those on the boat to make sure there's a communication schedule set up."
Mi Jay left Nelson on November 22 2005.
Deck hands Wiremu Tawhiti and Cedric James were found dead in a life raft off the coast of Kaikoura on December 19, after drifting in it for up to two weeks while a search was made.
The body of skipper Paul Rees and the Mi Jay have never been found.
Loader had failed to arrange a reporting schedule in which Mr Rees reported his position regularly with land-based marine radio services.
He had also failed to alert these services that the Mi Jay should be reporting in.
Given the circumstances, the sentence was strong enough, Mr Corbett said.
"It was a clear breach of the legislation which had tragic consequences."
Adam Hopkinson, counsel for Maritime New Zealand, which laid the charges, told the court today that had intent to offend been determined Loader could have faced more serious charges, such as manslaughter.
As it was the gravity of Loader's offending was high and he should receive a term of imprisonment.
Defence counsel Tim Spear submitted that while Loader acknowledged his role in the tragedy, partly due to the fact he was out of cellphone range in the West Coast bush at the time the Mi Jay went missing, a series of events contributed.
He said no one knew when the Mi Jay got into trouble and it could have been very early in the voyage.
Even if the skipper had intended to regularly report in, the incident that led to the vessel's sinking might have happened before he was able to.
Judge Walker said Loader had failed to implement a simple procedure and the industry needed to be reminded of the importance of reporting a vessel's position.
Judge Walker adjourned the sentencing of Crusader Fisheries until next month to await an insurance company decision on whether to pay a claim for the Mi Jay.
If the insurance payment and a possible GST refund came through, the company might be in a position to pay reparation, he said.
- NZPA
